The second annual Fantasy Worldwide Film Festival is taking place in Toronto on October 27-29, 2006. Fantasy Worldwide is the first-of-its-kind festival to showcase a broad range of fantasy genres including: mythology, mysticism, science fiction, magical realism, fantasy (no horror), historical fiction, legend and archetype.

“We are excited to build on the success of last year’s inaugural festival and have the opportunity to, once again, deliver empowering stories that explore the mythological, emotional and legendary roots of our human experience,” says Johanna Kern, founder and executive director, Fantasy Worldwide Film Festival. “We are dedicated to bringing together a global community of filmmakers and filmgoers who love fantasy and science fiction films.”

More than twenty hours of feature films, shorts, animation and documentaries from around the world will be presented at the festival, which is taking place at the Bloor Cinema in Toronto. The films, which represent the various fantasy genres — except horror — will be chosen from submissions from all over the world.

Adds Kern: “What’s more, we are the only fantasy film festival in the world that does not screen horror films. We chose to not screen them so that we can focus on delivering stories with messages that inspire or empower the audience.”

Awards will be handed out in the following categories: Best Feature Film, Best Short Film, Best Documentary, Best Animation Film, People’s Choice Award and Special Recognition for a Local Filmmaker.

Last year, the festival’s award-winning films included: Moongirl (from the award-winning director, Henry Selick; USA), which received the award for Best Animation; Kiss Me (Antonio Cunha Telles, Portugal), for Best Feature Film; Harry Clarke–Darkness in Light (John J. Doherty; Ireland), for Best Documentary; A Message from Outer Space (Roel Mondelaers & Raf Reyntjens; Belgium), for Best Short; and G.O.R.A. (Omer Faruk Sorak; Turkey), which received the People’s Choice Award. Local (Toronto) filmmaker, Saide Kardar, was recognized for his short film As Long As Grass Grows.

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New England Underground Film Festival Seeks EntriesThe New England Underground Film Festival is now seeking entries for its 5th annual event, to be held October 3 at the University of Hartford’s Gray Conference Center, located in West Hartford, Connecticut. Programmed by Film Threat’s Phil Hall, this festival celebrates the best in contemporary underground cinema. The final deadline for entries is July 15; entry information is online at http://newenglanduff.webs.com.